Rasheed, the arrested kingpin in the human trafficking case, alleged that he had paid Rs 11 lakh to TRS MP for sending five Gujarati women to the United States, reports Ashok Das.

Rasheed, the arrested kingpin in the human trafficking case, on Friday alleged that he had paid Rs 11 lakh to Telangana Rashtra Samithi MP and former union minister A Narendra for sending five Gujarati women to the United States.

"I am not the kingpin. I am only a middleman. There are others who are the kingpins. I work for my bread and butter. I have not done anything on my own." Rasheed told mediapersons while being taken away by the police from the Nampally Criminal Courts Complex.

He said he had paid Rs 11 lakh to Narendra, besides paying an undisclosed amount to TRS MLA Kasipeta Lingaiah, who is now in judicial custody in connection with the human trafficking case.

At the same time, he denied having any links with the arrested BJP MP Babubhai Katara. "I don't know Katara," he said in reply to a question.

Claiming that he faced a threat to his life, he alleged that "they (political leaders) will not leave me alive."

He also wondered why the entire media was after him. "Please, you only can help me," he pleaded with the media to bring him out of his predicament.

Rasheed, who was produced before the 12th Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on Friday afternoon was remanded to judicial custody till May 18. The magistrate remanded Rasheed and Muzaffar Ali Khan, a former corporator belonging to Telugu Desam party(arrested on Thursday night on the charges of providing shelter and financial assistance to Rasheed) to judicial custody for 14 days and sent them to Chanchalguda central prison in the city.

Hyderabad police said that they have informed their Delhi counterparts and a team of Delhi police is expected to arrive in the city to secure the custody of Rasheed.

Meanwhile, half a dozen Andhra Pradesh political leaders including a lady have refuted the charges of Rasheed implicating them in the human trafficking racket.